I believe getChildNodes() returns an array only if called in array context, otherwise it returns an object and you have to use $child_nodes->item( 0) .

If I were you I would also test whether that first and only child exists: it could be empty, and you might want to report it as an error instead of just dying, or there might be entities in the text and you could get several children nodes even if there are no sub-elements.

And finally, I would advise against using XML::DOM at all. The code written using the DOM is often very brittle: extra comments, or even line returns, tend to break it. In you case XML::Simple might be enough, or XML::LibXML, or (of course!) XML::Twig. See the recently updated Ways to Rome for examples of all of those modules (and more!)

In reply to Re: Using XML::DOM to get the contents of an element by mirod
in thread Using XML::DOM to get the contents of an element by ezekiel

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.